Five years ago we started a project with a small group of like minded friends to save the boatyard cats here in Puerto Escindido and this week marked the end of this project as we had to relocate the last two cats at the request of the marina.

Its a sad day because the Marina lost a lot of charm — many cruiser’s looked forward to seeing the boatyard cats and giving them special treats. Since our first visit to Puerto Escondido in 2010 it was always a highlight of this stop to pet the kittens and bring them treats. But the problem began in 2017 when there was a population explosion and suddenly instead of 3 or 4 cats there were 30 or more. Some were drop offs, some wandered in from nearby communities and everyone was having kittens!

So we began an intense Catch/Neuter/Release program in February of 2018 and eventually all the cats (and the 3 litters of kittens born during the process) were neutered and vaccinated. We found good homes for all the kittens but most of the other cats remained on the property as feral cats are hard to place. But the number of cats in the Marina quickly dwindled to about a dozen as many just naturally moved on. It was a manageable number as they had plenty of room to roam in the vacant fields and keep the rodent and cockroach populations in check. They were a true delight to us, but not to the Marina who told us in 2019 they had to go. So a catch and relocate program ensued and we were able to get all but 3 “uncatchable cats” off to ranches etc.

We’d hoped those 3 would be fine and even appreciated for the benefit they provided not only in pest control but in keeping other cats from coming in to their territory. A few months ago one of the 3 amigos, a beautiful calico we’d named Fluffy was found dead so we were down to our two amigos, Trey and Diablo.

But that was still two too many cats for the Marina and we were given an ultimatum to get the cats off the property. Luckily, they’d become very friendly in the last year or so so the catching wasn’t near as difficult or traumatic as in the past. And a good friend who has property out in the country near Loreto was happy to take them in. We constructed a large containment cage for them there and and are keeping them in it for about a week so they adjust to the sights, sounds and smells of their new home before releasing them. They have the same kind of vacant lots around as they had here in the marina and they will always have food and shelter so we hope that Trey and Diablo will be happy in their new home.

Marina Puerto Escondido will never be the same for all of us that have enjoyed the boatyard cats for all these years. 😻😻